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But Donatelli’s team skated shorthanded frequently Friday night. That’s a big reason, the coach said, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton dropped a 3-2 overtime decision to the Charlotte Checkers in the opener of the Calder Cup Playoffs.

The teams meet again at tonight in Charlotte, continuing their first-round best-of-five series.

“If we’re playing five-on-five, I like our chances,” Donatelli said shortly after Lucas Wallmark shoved the puck past Penguins goalkeeper Tristan Jarry at the 3:18 mark of overtime.

“But we have to be more disciplined and avoid the penalties. ... (The Checkers) have a good power play. We have to avoid getting into that situation.”

Wallmark’s goal completed a comeback for Charlotte, which trailed the Penguins 2-0 after the first 40 minutes.

Wilkes-Barre/Scranton was called for seven minor penalties, compared with three for Charlotte. Each team scored once on the power play, but the Checkers’ relentless pressure midway in the third period — when the Penguins were trying to kill off a pair of minors —eventually paid off.

Valentin Zykov, the AHL’s regular-season scoring champion, evened the score at 2 with 8:15 remaining on a power-play tally. Charlotte’s Greg McKegg, a former Penguin, blasted the puck at Jarry from about 15 feet. Jarry stopped the shot with his pad, but the puck bounced out to Zykov, who tied it.

In overtime, Charlotte outshot the Penguins 5-0 and kept the puck in the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton end of the ice most of the time. Wallmark’s goal came during a scramble in front of the net.

Some of the Penguins felt goaltender interference should have been called, but after a discussion among officials, referee Pierre Lambert allowed the goal to stand.

Donatelli said he didn’t have an opinion on the call. “It is what it is,” he said. “We should’ve gotten the puck out of there.”

The Penguins almost scored in the game’s first two minutes, but Teddy Blueger’s shot on the power play was turned away by Charlotte goalkeeper Alex Nedeljkovic.

Charlotte didn’t get its first shot on goal until nearly seven minutes had elapsed —after the first of four Wilkes-Barre/Scranton penalties in the period. Checkers center Janne Kuokkanen took a pass about 10 feet in front of the net, but his shot was blocked by Jarry.

Jarry made another big save two minutes later, this time against Charlotte’s Andrew Poturalski. That also came with the Checkers on the power play.

The Penguins finally broke through at the 18:44 mark of the period, a minute after Charlotte’s Andrew Miller had been whistled for hooking. Ryan Haggerty passed the puck to defenseman Andrey Pedan, who unleashed a slap shot from the left point that glided past Nedeljkovic.

The two teams took 20 shots in the second period, and it was the most unlikely one that ended in the net.

About 11 minutes into the period, an errant Charlotte pass near center ice landed on the stick of the Penguins’ Daniel Sprong. As Sprong neared the Charlotte blue line, he flicked a shot past two defenders. The puck skittered along the ice and bounced past Nedeljkovic into the goal.

“That was a crazy bounce,” Donatelli said. “The hockey gods were with us.”

“Their goalie made a lot of big saves early on,” Vellucci said. “He was stellar.”

Charlotte’s first goal in the third period came at the 6:32 mark. Aleksi Saarela fired from about 20 feet in front of the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton net, and the puck hit the pipe on the side of the goal and went in.

That set up the game-tying goal, which followed a tripping call on Pedan.

A shot by Saarela clanged off the Penguins’ goal two minutes later, but after a video review, referee Pierre Lambert ruled that the puck didn’t go into the goal.

Contact the writer:

sports@citizensvoice.com

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